


One Chance, One Million Ways

by SilverStreaksofStardust



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, downtheroad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 15:19:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9130222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverStreaksofStardust/pseuds/SilverStreaksofStardust
Summary: Whenever a person yet again said, "You're so lucky, I wish I was you", Jason was tempted to say, "Done, let's switch".





	

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: OOC? Maybe. AU ... Definitely. I do not own the characters. ((I have thought about foreshadowing the certain photo that Thalia left behind, and it disappearing ... but I couldn't really fit that in.))

**.: One Chance, One Million Ways :.**

_Dedication: Written for Those Who Think Too Much._

* * *

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like everyone is trying to be someone they're not, wearing a mask that covers their true identity.

We keep ourselves safe and guarded. Ready to freely cry alone, after the bullying is done. Try to prove we're tough and fight, even though we sometimes just want to die.

I don't have anything to prove. I already know I'm not strong - I'm weak. And sometimes I think way too much.

The ground underneath me... I almost forget it's there. For once in a long time, I feel weightless and free. My heart's pounding so fast, with adrenaline coursing through my veins. My brain, or rather the logical part is the only thing holding me back. The cerebrum - it helps control your thinking. Most of it impacts on morality. The hardest times I chose was when I first lit a cigarette. When I brought my girlfriend, Piper, to my bedroom. There were no regrets.

"Please?" I say out loud. I wasn't sure what that even meant. Towards me actually willing myself to launch off, or someone coming.

For a moment, I feel guilty. My mom - even though she sunk to her lowest point in life, with no job and struggling with her on/off boyfriends, she needs me. Piper, pretty Piper McLean. We were together for two years. We were Prom King and Queen, the 'perfect' couple. Were - are.

"Hey! Don't jump!"

I blink, seeing a boy race towards me. His dark hair is disarrayed, as if the wind attacked it. "What -"

"It doesn't work," he says.

Still in a confused daze, I stare down, looking at the current below. The waves sound so familiar, back when I was younger and with a FAMILY. Two parents, and an older sister. We used to make camping trips through the forest, listening to the stream that led to the waterfall. The sight always amazed me, with the sunlight hitting it and blue falling. My sister took a picture of it - when she turned twenty-one she left but kept it taped on her door, along with other photos. Most were family ones, and once I counted them. Thirty. Thalia did a living with her camera. I imagine she moved someplace in California, developing pictures and selling.

"What doesn't?" I eventually ask.

"Trying to escape."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've tried before." He boldly goes beside me, but doesn't pull me back. He himself understands personal space.

I try to figure him out, but like many, he's unreadable. "I wasn't going to jump."

He gave me an unimpressed look. "I've been bullied. I'm not asking for sympathy, but I do know what it's like. When you think nothing goes right your way, and nobody understands."

I say nothing, waiting. Here it comes. The story that make me realise, it'll all get better. That the world is so fucking happy and there's no darkness. That... that was a hopeless thought, one that wasn't real.

"People never asked me if I was okay. But even if they did, I'll lie and say I'm fine. So I tried to escape, but instead I landed in a hospital. My dad was beside me, in a chair, all tough but trying not to cry. Since my mom passed away, when I was eight, he was still trying to pick up the pieces.

"And my sister... Gods, she was terrified. She thought I was depressed and anorexic, wanting me to eat. She never saw what people did to me in high school - different grade."

I do accept that a stranger told me his story. He didn't seen forced to, just to help out some random guy, but it was genuine. _The pain never stops, though_.

"I met a guy. He was like me. He slowly broke down my barrier, and for some reason, I trusted him. I don't trust people that easily." He shakes his head, giving a dry laugh. "Life is crazy. We're all ruined to the core."

In a way, I wanted to just jump. Show that I was going, that there was no stopping. This boy here, he was trying to achieve something. But it will make me look dumb to back away. And maybe I had high pride, that made me do stupid things.

I slowly look up at the blue sky, a lighter shade than the water. It was endless, and had more freedom in a way - enough space and time to just stay.

But I back away, just for the sake of making someone feel accomplished. "Fine. You win."

"Nobody wins," he says. "But nobody loses either. Life isn't a game, but given to us for experience. In reality, some don't matter because the world doesn't need us."

"... So you're telling me to jump?"

"No. I'm telling you to get through life, no matter how shitty it's going to be, and prove that you matter. Because in the end, you'll be happy that you chose to live."

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: If you ever think you don't matter, you do. It's not a cry for attention if you need someone to talk to. I've seriously had depressing moments but never experienced much darkness. When life gets you down, stand back up. 
> 
> And you know who'll help you? It's the ones who care. Family, friends, pets, classmates, teachers... someone loves you out there. Think about the things to live for -- love, children, writing, reading, publishing a book, dreams -- tell your story through the ink and bleed onto the paper. Your story needs to be told. You matter.


End file.
